Frederick's Bistro

Frederick's Bistro is a nice French restaurant near Shavano Park.  They have a number of items on their menu that are naturally gluten free.  The server also informed me that they could also modify some of their dishes to make them GF, e.g. not breading something.  I had a delightful fish entree, but they also had duck, beef, and lobster options on the menu that were GF.  The best part is that that have an extensive dessert menu with GF options.  I got to pick from souffles, chocolate terrine, creme brulee, sorbet, ice cream, and chocolate mousse.  I chose the souffle, but I have also had the terrine in the past.  Both desserts were delightful.  It's so refreshing to have multiple GF dessert options when dining out.  I highly recommend Frederick's for GF fine dining needs.

Fralo's Art of Pizza

Fralo's is a local gourmet pizza restaurant that offers a GF pizza.  The GF pizza crust is thin, unlike their normal crust, but it does serve as a great base for their delicious pizzas.  The GF pizza is also significantly smaller than the regular pizza, serving only 1-2 people.  The price is high for a regular pizza, but their interesting topping combinations make the gourmet pizza worthwhile.  They also offer live music, outdoor dining, and a wine list.  I did not take a picture of the pizza, but their menu detailing some of their interesting toppings is available online.

They are located near Leon Springs.

Address - 23651 IH 10 West, San Antonio, Texas 78257
Phone - 210-698-6616

Piatti

Piatti is a lovely Italian restaurant with a rather extensive GF menu that includes GF pasta.  It is fairly loud in there due to the lively bar scene and the high ceilings.  They have an outdoor patio area for dining as well.  The menu has many options including appetizers, soups, salads, and even pasta dishes.  I ordered the alfredo pasta dish.  The pasta they used was outstanding.  It was so good that I double checked that it was actually GF.  I have uploaded a picture of the GF menu as well as the pasta dish I ordered.  Note that I got the small portion size.

Piatti is located in The Quarry.
Address - 255 E. Basse Road, Suite 500, San Antonio, TX 78209
Phone - 210-832-0300

Taco Cabana

Taco Cabana does not currently provide a GF menu online, but when I emailed them, they responded quickly with a current list of GF menu options.  Ideally, I would post the PDF online, but it had a disclaimer saying it was for my personal use and not for distribution, so I will just summarize the findings here.  The soft corn tortillas are safe to eat and are the best bet.  They will substitute corn for flour for their menu items.  The crispy taco shells, chalupa shells, and tortilla chips start GF, but may be fried in the same oil as the flour tortillas, so they are more risky.  Black beans, borracho beans, and refried beans are all GF.  Toppings like cheese, con queso, and sour cream are okay.  The meats I saw listed as safe included bacon, barbacoa, chicken fajita, shredded chicken, rotisserie chicken, ground beef, chorizo, eggs, and steak fajita.  Guacamole and salsas are safe to eat as well as the produce toppings and rice.  Flan is a GF dessert option.

I prefer their breakfast tacos, and they are safe on corn tortillas.  I tried the ground beef tacos and the guacamole at lunch today.  I took a picture of the tacos on the soft corn tortillas.  The guacamole was pretty good, and the tacos were okay.  It's nice to know that you can eat a lot of the menu items and it is a good fast food option.

Taco Cabana has locations all over San Antonio.

Amy's Ice Creams

Ice cream is a weakness of mine.  I read about Amy's Ice Creams and had to go visit.  Their seven standard flavors are all GF, and according to their website their employees are trained and aware of allergens, so they can let you know about the status of the rotating flavors.  I went in and sampled the Mexican Vanilla and the White Chocolate flavors.  The ice cream was very sweet, which threw me off a little bit because I have been eating more frozen yogurt than ice cream lately.  They also offer frozen yogurt and dairy free fruit ices.  For a decadent treat that is fresh and absent of artificial colors and flavors, drop by Amy's.  Because they only have one location in San Antonio, there can be a long line, and seating is limited.

They are located in The Quarry in San Antonio, but have other locations in Austin and Houston.

Address - 255 E Basse Rd., San Antonio, TX 78209
Phone - 210-832-8886

Paloma Blanca

We finally made it to Paloma Blanca last night.  I had heard about their separate GF menu and finally sampled their food last night.  Paloma Blanca is definitely celiac friendly.  They have a separate GF menu, they prepare fresh chips that have not been fried with other items, and they have separate celiac tortillas.  The service was great, the margaritas were strong, and there was a definite attention to detail when it came to serving a customer who had to eat GF.  I ordered The '09 Margarita, which was strong and fresh.  The chips and salsa were okay in my book, and I really appreciated that they brought me specials chips.  For the entree, I ordered Pollo Chipotle subbing the poblano corn white rice for the Spanish rice.  The chicken and sauce were tasty and the rice was good, but the borracho beans were too mushy.  They brought me six celiac corn tortillas when I requested some with my entree, which was very generous.  For dessert, I tried the flan.  All in all, it was not my favorite Mexican food in the city, but their attention to detail when it came to GF dining was outstanding, so it may be worth your while to visit them.

 

They are located in Alamo Heights.

Address - 5800 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209
Phone - 210-822-6151

SoLuna

I finally made it back to SoLuna, sister restaurant of El Mirasol, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in San Antonio.  They have an extensive menu with several naturally GF options.  They also have wonderful margaritas and chispas.  I have uploaded a picture of the Tacos a la Parrilla de Pollo, which are grilled corn tortillas with shredded chicken breast, refried beans, mozzarella cheese, cabbage and a slice of avocado.

They are located in Alamo Heights.

Address - 7959 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209
Phone - 210-930-8070

Freddy's

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is a chain with the usual fast food fare except for offering steakburgers instead of hamburgers and custard instead of ice cream.  I had their custard shakes before and thoroughly enjoyed them.  I decided to splurge on a meal after finding information about their gluten free options.  Their website isn't very friendly and doesn't list allergens anywhere, so you have to contact them for the information.  The burgers are GF if ordered without a bun.  Fries are GF, but may be fried with other items.  Hot dogs are also GF, but are prepared on the same grill where they heat the buns.  The custard is definitely GF.  I went all out for taste testing purposes and ordered the steakburger (sans bun), fries, and a vanilla custard shake.  Unlike typical fast food, it takes them a while to prepare your meal, and you can sit in their drive thru for a long time.  The shake was great (I drank a bit of it before making it home).  The fries were delicious and had great seasoning, but they definitely skimped on the serving (shown before I ate even one).  The burger was pretty thin, charred, dry, and flavorless.  They handled the bunless order by packaging it in two boxes and not providing any condiments (shown below).  All in all, I will probably return for custard, might eat the fries again, but probably won't bother with anything else.  Freddy's has indicated via Twitter that they may start publishing allergen information online.

They have 10 locations in San Antonio, so you can look them up here.

Paciugo Gelato

I dropped by Paciugo Gelato for a cool treat on a hot summer day.  What I found was the best gelato in San Antonio.  Their flavors were unique, the product was creamy, and the service was outstanding.  Out of curiosity, I sampled their Lavender Chocolate Chip, and loved it.  I also ended up getting the Bailey's Chocolate Swirl and Tre Vaniglie.  For the dairy intolerant, they also have several fruity flavors that are dairy free.  They also make shakes and have espresso.  The only thing to be careful about is that some of the flavors are garnished with cookies or other gluten containing treats, so be sure to examine their flavors and ask questions before ordering.  I will be returning for sure!

They are located in Alamo Heights or at La Cantera.

Alamo Heights: Address - 999 E Basse Rd, Ste 197, San Antonio, TX 78209

Alamo Heights: Phone - 210-832-8820

La Cantera: Address - 15900 Shops at La Cantera Parkway, Ste 25140, San Antonio, TX 78256

La Cantera: Phone - 210-558-7545

Rome's Pizza

Rome's Pizza is a local pizza chain that recently unveiled an extensive GF menu.  The menu is not available yet online, but is available as a flyer in the stores.  The menu includes GF pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, and even chocolate cake.  I went for lunch and tried a GF pizza, and I was not disappointed.  The crust is thin and crispy on the edges while chewy in the middle.  I found it to be one of the best GF pizzas in the city and they have a variety of traditional and gourmet toppings.  The pizza is large enough to serve 1-2 people and is reasonably priced.  The pizza sandwich was great and they will provide tomato sauce for dipping if you like.  I will have to return to try the chocolate cake.  I have uploaded the GF menu as well as a picture of the 10" pizza and the pizza sandwich.

They have four locations in San Antonio and one in Austin.

Far West Side: Address - 10555 Culebra Rd. Suite 105, San Antonio, TX 78250
Far West Side: Phone - 210-256-7663

Helotes: Address - 12411 Bandera, San Antonio, TX 78023
Helotes: Phone - 210-695-9933

Northwest Side: Address - 5999 De Zavala Drive, San Antonio, TX 78249
Northwest Side: Phone - 210-691-2070

Stone Oak: Address - 19298 Stone Oak Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78258
Stone Oak: Phone - 210-490-0700

Bombay Hall

I've eaten at Bombay Hall several times and I always have a wonderful experience.  It is an Indian restaurant with a buffet near the medical center.  The family that runs the restaurant is very nice and accommodating.  They have a rotation of items available, and most Indian food is naturally GF.  Most of the food is also vegetarian or dairy free, and their dishes are not too spicy.  One of my favorite dishes is the Saag Paneer.  They also have GF desserts like Khir (rice pudding) or mango custard.  I finally remembered to take some pictures of some of the GF items and the rice pudding with mango custard.

 

They are located on the Northwest Side near the Medical Center.

Address - 8783 Wurzbach Road, San Antonio, TX 78240
Phone - 210-691-5900

Babe's Burgers

I went to Babe's Burgers because they have recently started carrying GF buns from Little Aussie Bakery.  Their menu is pretty typical with burgers, pizzas, and nachos.  I ordered a guacamole cheeseburger on a GF bun with the fresh cut fries.  They also had one GF cider, Angry Orchard's Apple Ginger, so I ordered that as well.  The burger was satisfying.  It was a fairly thin patty, but the guacamole was homemade with large chunks of avocado in it.  The fries were hand cut and pretty good, but could have used some seasoning.  I was happy they offered a cider, but I personally prefer Angry Orchard's other cider offerings and didn't care for the flavor of the Apple Ginger variety as much.  The atmosphere of the restaurant was much better than I was expecting.  It was kind of like an old diner with rustic signs everywhere, but the place was very clean and the employees were friendly.  I remembered to take pictures.

 

They have three locations in town.

Helotes: Address - 12415 Bandera Rd., Helotes, TX 78023

Helotes: Phone - 210-695-5666

Northwest Side: Address - 4535 Fredericksburg Rd., San Antonio, Texas 78201

Northwest Side: Phone - 210-732-6666

Northwest Side: Address - 9207 Huebner Rd., San Antonio, TX 78240

Northwest Side: Phone - 210-561-2222

Lion & Rose

We went out to dinner last night at Lion & Rose, a British pub.  It is a bar atmosphere with a decent menu offering typical British pub fare.  I say that because I wouldn't really call it a family friendly restaurant.  I was interested in going there because they have a GF menu.  They have a fairly extensive menu of GF options.  I was a little adventurous and went for the Central London Chicken Curry.  It was much better than I expected, especially for pub fare.  I would say the curry was a bit spicy, and was somewhere between an Indian and a Thai curry.  I enjoyed it thoroughly, as well as a Strongbow cider.  They had at least two ciders, Bard's Tale beer, and a full bar.  I have uploaded a picture of the special menu and the curry.

They have four locations in San Antonio (Alamo Heights, The Forum, Stone Oak, and Park North) and one in Austin.

Alamo Heights: Address - 5148 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209
Alamo Heights: Phone - 210-822-7673 

Northeast Side: Address - 8211 Agora Pkwy, Suite 112, Live Oak, TX 78154
Northeast Side: Phone - 210-547-3000

Stone Oak: Address - 700 E. Sonterra Blvd, Suite 318, San Antonio, TX 78258
Stone Oak: Phone - 210-798-5466

Uptown: Address - 842 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78216
Uptown: Phone - 210-798-4154

Druthers Cafe

Druthers Cafe is a delightful local deli for breakfast and lunch.  They do not have a GF menu, and most of their menu is sandwiches, but they have a number of salad options.  I ordered the Cobbs and Robbers, their take on a Cobb salad, and it was wonderful.  I ate the whole thing (sorry, no picture).  They included their egg salad, which was fantastic.  I also heard from colleagues that they have the best tarragon chicken salad.  I recommend this place if you want a terrific salad.

They have two locations: one on the Northwest Side near the Medical Center and one Downtown.

Downtown: Address - 175 Houston St. #115, San Antonio, TX 78205
Downtown: Phone - 210-212-6922

Northwest Side: Address - 8637 Fredericksburg Rd. #145, San Antonio, TX 78240
Northwest Side: Phone - 210-691-2777

Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday is an American chain restaurant.  They don't have GF menus in the restaurant, but they do list their allergens and offer suggestions for GF dining online.  It looks like it changes often based on the changing menu items and ingredient suppliers.  However, some safe options are the salad bar and a few entrees on the menu.  I am always annoyed by limited GF options at a restaurant.  I do not consider removing the sauce from the meal a legitimate option.  If I wanted plain food, I would easily make that at home.  That being said, I did manage to order the Memphis dry ribs (no BBQ sauce) with a side of white cheddar mashed potatoes and grilled zucchini.  The mashed potatoes and the ribs were much better than expected.

There are three locations in town.

Far West Side: Address - 5607 W Loop 1604 N, San Antonio, TX 78253
Far West Side: Phone - 210-521-9984

Northwest Side: Address - 9818 W IH 10, San Antonio, TX 78230
Northwest Side: Phone - 210-558-8880

Stone Oak: Address - 20831 US Highway 281 N, San Antonio, TX 78258
Stone Oak: Phone - 210-402-9660